Setting
Default Location for The Lost and Found
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New York, NY is a part of 
The Lost and Found.
10 Characters Here
Holly Madden [104]
Brooklyn Archer [100]
Nick Moreno [92] The Leader
Roman Killens [87] The Intellect
Makayla Wright [79]
Savannah Stonecraft* [72] "I just want to start over..."
Cara Forrester [71]
Jackson King [43] "Sunshine all the time makes a desert."
Robbie Amello [36] The Addict
Elena Ramos [25]
Start Character Here »
Jackson wasn't completely caught off guard when Roman flew in to "rescue" Brooklyn. He was nearly as close to her as Nick was and as far as he was concerned, Roman was vying for a spot in Brooklyn's sheets just as much as he. Really, who wasn't? Brooklyn was hot and had an attitude to match it. Girls like her who played hard to get and had mouths too big for their own good were total turn-ons. It was probably why Jackson's feelings for Makayla were so different than what he felt for Cara. Both girls were hot and great in bed but Cara was too much of a good girl for him. Makayla had that wit and edge that always left him wanting more. Truth be told, Brooklyn probably topped all of the other ladies when it came to her sharp tounge, but as Roman, the knight in shining armor, had just attested to, Brooklyn wasn't going to reciprocate his feelings any time too. Even the shove that Killens gave him wasn't going to be enough for him to cut his chase for Brooklyn short. If that was all it took, he would have stopped hitting on her the day area he moved in. No, Jackson didn't really think he had a chance with Brooklyn, but it wasn't because some lanky wannabe boxer wanted it that way. It was more so because of Nick, who again, Jackson felt was a nice enough dude, and more so, who would most certainly at least kick him out if he were to make a real move on Brooklyn. The slap on her ass was just a playful move, so Jackson didn't think that counted and didn't get why Roman felt the need to go all superhero on him and step in. If anyone could stick up for themselves in this basement, it was Brooklyn. Not only did she stick up for herself on the defensive end, but she was an active participant on the offensive end too.
"Shit, my bad, man. For a minute there, I thought your name was Roman, not Romeo." It was in Jackson's nature to be sarcastic, and he held his hands up in surrender as if it had been as innocent of a mistake as the words behind his sarcastic tone hinted at. "Don't worry, Juliet is all yours. I'm in the mood for something foreign tonight anyway," he chuckled, adding a sultry wink in Alex's direction as he stepped past Roman and continued towards his section of the room. It was surprisingly one of the neater areas of the basement, but only because Jackson barely owned anything. He had three black t-shirts, a couple pairs of boxers and socks, one pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers and boots, his ID and social security card, and a couple bags of half-eaten chips and candies. He set his backpack down against the side of his mattress and pulled out the plastic bag with the three beers in it. Those would come in handy tonight, that was for sure. Speaking of tonight, and casting his fantasy of getting with Alex aside, he was curious as to where his two "friends" were. If Holly was here, that meant that either Makayla or Cara had to be close by. Makayla rarely went out and left Holly with anyone other than Cara, and especially with Brooklyn suddenly being back, she doubted that she would just toss Holly to the wolves, or better yet- wolf, like that. He considered getting back up to ask Holly himself, but Mister Altruism was still standing guard of Brooklyn, who was now apparently his girlfriend. Which kind of made sense, considering that Nick had most likely moved on to Savannah and Jackson couldn't imagine Brooklyn coming back to that scene, unless she had moved on in her own way. And what better way to do that than to fuck Nick's best friend? It was a move that seemed so in-character for Brooklyn that Jackson was certain it was the truth simply based off of his own assumptions and Killens' recent performance. Aside from all of that, as he cracked open one of the beers and folded his thin, flat pillow in half behind his back, he was reminded of how tired he was anyway. Fighting Roman and scouting out Cara and/or Makayla both seemed like too much work, even if the latter might help quench the sex-drive that had came close to causing the former.
"Shit, my bad, man. For a minute there, I thought your name was Roman, not Romeo." It was in Jackson's nature to be sarcastic, and he held his hands up in surrender as if it had been as innocent of a mistake as the words behind his sarcastic tone hinted at. "Don't worry, Juliet is all yours. I'm in the mood for something foreign tonight anyway," he chuckled, adding a sultry wink in Alex's direction as he stepped past Roman and continued towards his section of the room. It was surprisingly one of the neater areas of the basement, but only because Jackson barely owned anything. He had three black t-shirts, a couple pairs of boxers and socks, one pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers and boots, his ID and social security card, and a couple bags of half-eaten chips and candies. He set his backpack down against the side of his mattress and pulled out the plastic bag with the three beers in it. Those would come in handy tonight, that was for sure. Speaking of tonight, and casting his fantasy of getting with Alex aside, he was curious as to where his two "friends" were. If Holly was here, that meant that either Makayla or Cara had to be close by. Makayla rarely went out and left Holly with anyone other than Cara, and especially with Brooklyn suddenly being back, she doubted that she would just toss Holly to the wolves, or better yet- wolf, like that. He considered getting back up to ask Holly himself, but Mister Altruism was still standing guard of Brooklyn, who was now apparently his girlfriend. Which kind of made sense, considering that Nick had most likely moved on to Savannah and Jackson couldn't imagine Brooklyn coming back to that scene, unless she had moved on in her own way. And what better way to do that than to fuck Nick's best friend? It was a move that seemed so in-character for Brooklyn that Jackson was certain it was the truth simply based off of his own assumptions and Killens' recent performance. Aside from all of that, as he cracked open one of the beers and folded his thin, flat pillow in half behind his back, he was reminded of how tired he was anyway. Fighting Roman and scouting out Cara and/or Makayla both seemed like too much work, even if the latter might help quench the sex-drive that had came close to causing the former.
Cara was not going to accept Makayla's insistence that she didn't want a drink. She had spent her entire day with Holly. Of course she wanted a drink. Even Cara, who had the patience of a saint when it came to Holly, was ready for a drink by the time that Holly passed out or Makayla returned from wherever she had went alone. No one could deny that Holly's energy and optimism was infectious but it was draining to deal with for more than a couple of hours, let alone the many years Makayla had been tasked with it. She gave her a knowing look but didn't object as she and Holly took the lead and headed inside. Cara had a feeling that Makayla's reservations with drinking had more to do with money than a lack of a desire to drink. She hated pressing the issue because she knew how uncomfortable it made Kay, and rightfully so, but she also wished that it wasn't such a big deal for her to offer help sometimes. It wasn't like Cara was asking her to accept a thousand dollar check. If she wanted to treat for dinner sometimes at a place nicer than Burger King, she didn't understand why it had to be such a big deal. Again, give her predicament, it was probably something that Cara would never fully understand.
Makayla and Holly gravitated towards the less populated back of the bar while Cara stopped at the busy counter to order her drink. It was definitely best that they sat away from the bar, since not only was it crowded, but Holly was sure to disrupt the patrons who were looking to unwind on their Friday evening. When Finn caught her eye, she ordered two vodka cranberries. Normally she went for more complicated mixed drinks - a Mai Tai, Miami Vice, flavored martini or a Sex on the Beach, but Finn's bar served beers for the most part, and she didn't want to push her luck. She also ordered a virgin Shirley Temple for Holly and left a twenty on the counter to cover their tab, as Finn already seemed engaged in a conversation with another customer by the time she found it in her purse.
She had only taken a couple of steps away from the bar when she spotted Nick and Robbie standing at the other end. It didn't seem necessary to go say hi to them. Robbie was probably already wasted and Nick was probably high as a kite. Making small talk would only make them all uncomfortable and like she wanted for Makayla, they had probably come up here to unwind as well. By the time that Cara had found the table the two girls claimed, it was now only occupied by Makayla. The door that led to the back, "employees only!" area of the bar, was left halfway open, and it didn't take much to piece together that Holly had probably run downstairs for something. Cara took the opportunity to slide Makayla's drink towards her, take the seat across from her and look Makayla over now that she had the chance to. She definitely didn't look good, and it was something more than just stress. "Kay, you really don't look like your normal self," she commented, pausing only to sip at her drink. Knowing Finn, even in the bare way that Cara did, came with its perks. The free basement space was an obvious one, and the overpowering ratio of alcohol to cranberry juice was almost as good in the moment. "I bumped into one of my old friends earlier today and he works at one of the Hilton's over in SOHO. What if me, you and Holly spend the night there tonight? Sleeping on a real bed will be nice and you can shower and relax and I'll take Holly down to their indoor pool or something." The whole "friend working at the hotel" thing was a lie, but Cara hoped it wasn't obvious. She would take the risk of her father seeing she was spending a night in a hotel if it meant that Makayla could actually relax for one night. If she said yes, Cara would end up convincing that "friend" to get them two rooms too, so she could really give Makayla the peace and quiet she needed and keep Holly away all together. She pulled the liquid through her straw faster now, knowing that if it had been so hard to get Makayla to let her buy her a drink, a night in a hotel would be nearly impossible. Still, she had to try. Something was off with Makayla and Cara liked her too much to just let it go without at least trying to dos something.
Makayla could tell that Holly wasn't listening to her because she didn't try to argue when she insisted that they weren't going to order anything at Finn's. That alone signaled that Holly wasn't processing a thing that she was saying, but one look at her sister's darting eyes proved that Holly's mind was elsewhere. Makayla couldn't pinpoint where it was, because she doubted that even Holly knew where it was. Her sister's thoughts moved far too quickly to for anyone to follow and it was sad to watch. It was sad to watch Holly frantically try to process the world around it. Everything seemed to overstimulate her and although Makayla wasn't proficient in medicine or psychology, she was sure that the world Holly lived in was different than the one she lived in. Not in some huge way, but she imagined that everything was brighter and shinier, louder and more colorful. That's the only way that Holly being so captivated by any and every thing made sense to her.
"Okay, good, Holly. We won't get anything right now but I'll leave some money with Cara so you can get something to eat later, okay?" Her sister still wasn't listening but she hoped that reiterating it a few times would help it sink in. It didn't. She shouldn't have expected it to. Before she could react, Holly had jumped down from her chair and saying something about Savannah and Nick. Makayla lunged to grab her arm but it was to no avail. Holly was through the back door and probably already on her way down the stairs by the time Makayla could react. Her reaction wasn't as much as it normally would have been, anyway. She was too tired to chase after Holly and when she spotted Cara headed towards her with three drinks in hand, she lost whatever care she had left. "I owe you," she smiled appreciatively as Cara slid the drink to her. She was not in a place to reject a drink right now, especially as she continued to glance as the back door of the bar, hoping Holly would reappear on her own. If Savannah was down there, they would be fine. Although Makayla didn't leave Holly with her regularly, she had proven herself to be nice enough to her sister and Kay was definitely grateful for that.
Luckily, the mixed drink soothed her stomach more than upset it and Makayla downed it as if it were just a glass of water. It was definitely strongly tainted with vodka but it wasn't enough for her to smile genuinely when Cara expressed concern for her. Even less so, when Cara offered to bring them to spend a night in a hotel that her friend worked for. The drink was enough of a handout. Makayla would not and could not accept a hotel stay! Even if it cost no more than one-hundred dollars and if that was significantly less due to Cara's connections, she just couldn't accept something like that. Besides, she needed to work tonight. "Please, Cara, I'm fine! Holly dragged me into the pool today and that chlorine smell always gives me a headache. Besides, I'm still getting over the flu or whatever bug I have that I told you about last week. " She considered not even responding to the hotel offer but glancing away from her nearly empty glass and towards Cara, she knew she had to acknowledge it. The blonde was so sweet and her intentions were only good, even if Makayla wished she wouldn't dangle things like that in her face. On the plus side, at least Holly wasn't there to hear the tempting offer. "I appreciate it, Cara, but if I bring Holly somewhere like that once, she's never going to want to leave. I already hear too much about how we need to get an apartment and staying at a hotel will only be more of a headache," she chuckled. Aside from hating handouts, that was the truth. How could she explain to Holly that they were living in a dump when there were hotels with big, clean beds just down the road? "I was thinking about working tonight, though. Is there any chance Holly could stay with you for a few hours? I promise I won't be long." The slurping sound signaled that her drink was now officially empty. She again met Cara's gaze, praying that the blonde would say yes, when she caught sight of Savannah coming out from the back of the bar. Holly wasn't with her which was alarming, but again, Makayla was really too tired to go investigate. Instead, she just waved Savannah over. "Hey, Savannah. Is Holly okay down there? I mean, is she bothering everyone?"
Finn's bar didn't offer any of the peace and quiet that Nick was suddenly longing for, but it did offer free beer, and that was going to have to work for now. Patrick Finnegan, who refused to go by any name other than Finn, stood behind the bar with a younger guy who Nick recognized as the extra bartender Finn had hired for the summer. The small Irish pub was pretty crowded, which Nick would have been happy with on a good day, considering how bad business had been all winter for Finn. Tonight, he was even more happy with it, because it meant that Finn was already engrossed in some heated conversation with one of his regular patrons when Nick walked in. The middle-aged man only slid a Guinness towards Nick to acknowledge his presence and it was a gesture that Nick was grateful for. He wasn't in the mood to be dragged into one of Finn's arguments or conversations. The man was the epitome of "the fighting Irish" stereotype and had opinions so strong that Nick was sure he could spend an hour ranting about something as trivial as the weather. Not only did he not have the patience for that right now, but he assumed that Finn was already in the loop about Brooklyn's return. If Nick was like Finn's son, Brooklyn was undoubtedly a daughter to him, and would probably be the first to tell Nick he had to sort out whatever was going on with his relationship with her. Nick had just heard that from Roman and really, he didn't need either of him to tell him what he already knew. He knew he was screwed. God dammit, he knew he was really screwed.
Although Finnegan's served the purpose of a bar more than a restaurant, aside from the long bar counter, there were tables scattered about the place. They were generally just used by people who wanted to sit more privately with friends and order drinks, but Finn did have one waiter and one line cook in the back for those who wanted something to eat. The menu held your typical pub stuff: burgers, chicken fingers, fries, onion rings, and the likes. It certainly wasn't the quality of a five star restaurant but after a food beers it was bearable. Again, the fact that Finn liked Nick enough to put his tab on the house made it taste all the more better. He had eaten with Savannah only an hour or so ago, but as the Hispanic kid who doubled as the lone waiter and busboy passed by with two plates of onion rings, he realized that he was hungry again. "Mind telling 'Rique to make me a burger?" Nick said when he had caught the kid's attention. He knew Finn's line cook, Enrique, well enough to go back there and ask him to make it himself. Nick had actually met Finn by taking a job as his dishwasher and spent many days under Enrique's watch, but honestly just didn't feel like getting up. The kid nodded and hurried off, and Nick returned to the foaming beer in front of him.
The familiar voice that was quickly matched to Robbie, who had chosen a seat a few down from his, reminded Nick that Finn's wasn't the best place to go to get away from people he knew. It was following by a touch to his back and the soft voice of Makayla commenting on how much he smelled of marijuana. That brought an authentic smile to Nick's face but luckily that was all he had to respond with, since she didn't stop to chat after leaving him with the comment. Nick liked Makayla. She was independent and didn't cling to anyone, despite having the weight of keeping herself and Holly alive on her back. When Brooklyn was around, he sometimes wished that she would just let Brooklyn be Brooklyn, but even he knew that was wrong of him to expect. While he was usually okay with being Brooklyn's punching bag, he couldn't expect that of others. Makayla took a lot of shit from Brooklyn and when she snapped, it was usually very justified. Over the past two months with Brooklyn being gone, any reservations he had about her had disappeared. He saw clearly how she did try to keep Holly on a leash and that she didn't get into fights with anyone else, so if it wasn't already obvious, it was by then that Brooklyn had been the problem in that situation all along too. Especially with Roman distancing himself after Brooklyn's departure, Nick had grown to enjoy occasionally lighting up and talking with Makayla.
His burger came out pretty quickly but by then, he had already been through one and a half beers. He usually smoked more than he drank, but even his high wasn't enough to keep him calm at the mere thought of Brooklyn and Savannah living in the same space. Tonight was going to have to be a night where he doubled up on the weed and alcohol. He couldn't imagine getting through it any other way.
When Brooklyn asked where Cara was the first time, Alex hadn't quite been paying attention. She was rather absorbed in her own lack of thoughts that came with the exhaustion she was feeling. She glanced up when Robbie announced his departure, her eyes sliding over to where Zero was fixing Makayla and Holly's things once Robbie went upstairs. A small smile graced her lips in approval. The kid, as she fondly called him, was probably confused as all hell. It took her a moment to realise that he had came after Brooke left, as had Savannah, and so he'd never met the other blonde girl. Poor kid.
More than that, she knew she'd have to talk to Nick at some point. Not because she was of any particular importance to him, but more because he must have been stressed out of his mind at this point. With the realisation she'd had that he was still in love with Brooke, after having seen the look in his eyes when she walked into the room, she knew that he was now caught in the almighty cliche romantic trap. Torn between the girl that had once been his, and a girl who wanted to be his. He was a hell of a ladies man.
Alex could see why. She'd had her own crush on him too, after he'd agreed to take her in and let her be a part of the group. He'd been everything she considered ideal at the time. His confidence and warm friendliness had drawn her in. The fact that he was very, very attractive helped as well. Then she got over it.
When the bundle of energy and enthusiasm and words that was known as Holly came bouncing down the stairs, Alex flinched. She could very well remember the the dislike that Brooklyn had for Holly's personality, and prepared herself to verbally defend the younger girl if needed. But, to Alex's surprise (she supposed that she should give Brooklyn more credit for this), it wasn't needed.
When Holly wrapped her arms in a hug around Brooklyn and her words came flying out of her mouth, Brooklyn only quietly murmured a quick "Hey Holls" before Holly finished and moved on to her next victim. Alex.
"Hi Alex."
"Hey Holls," Alex smiled warmly. There was something infectious about Holly's smile that made it impossible for Alex to not smile around the redheaded girl.
"Did you get any fortune cookies?"
Alex's eyes quickly darted to the interior of the bag that Lennie had brought. Seeing the telltale plastic wrapper and orange-ish coloured cookie inside, she nodded. Alex reached into the bag and took one of the cookies. Handing it to Holly, she said, "Lennie got some, and we saved them just for you."
"Is Cara around?" Alex looked up at Brooklyn, now standing beside the table. Alex shrugged.
"Not to my knowledge. Probably out doing something," she answered, using the chopsticks to put a last bit of the Chinese food in her mouth before setting down the container.
In a string of luck that seemed to be endless that day, Alex's favourite dickhead walked in in the form of Jackson.
"Shit, Lex. Now that Brooklyn's back, you're gonna have some competition if you wanna sleep with me as bad as I know you do. You know I have a thing for blondes, and this just adds one more into the mix."
"Fuck off, Jackson," Alex said casually, as though it was something she said every day. Which, to her credit, it was something she said every day. She both heard and, in the corner of her eye, caught the slap. She let out an internal groan, knowing that Brooklyn was liable to slap the crap out of Jackson back. However, that didn't happen as Roman crossed the room faster than Alex could think 'What an asshole'.
She pretended to pay attention to her nails, watching the exchange out of the corner of her eye.
"Watch where you put your fucking hands." She heard Roman growl the words at Jackson. At that, she looked up, only to see Jackson be his usual asshole self.
"Shit, my bad, man. For a minute there, I thought your name was Roman, not Romeo. Don't worry, Juliet is all yours. I'm in the mood for something foreign tonight anyway." With the wink in her direction, Alex characteristically responded with her favourite means of expressing her feelings: sending her middle finger pointed at the sky. Watching Roman standing there fuming, she stood and made the few quick strides to her own neat, little living space. It was relatively organised, a few cheap but waterproof plastic containers holding her clothes, shoes, and few valuables alongside her mattress. She reached down for her bag, counting out $200 of the total amount in there. She made a mental note to set aside $500 for Makayla to help take care of her and Holly. Folding up the four $50 bills to hide them in her hand, she walked over to Roman. She placed a hand on her should to let him know he was there, and in the moment he un-balled his fist she slipped the bills into his hand.
"Use wisely," she said with a wink, walking back. She was planning on dividing up the money between everyone anyways, and had decided to reward Roman with the nice secure feeling of having money in his possession first. Setting aside more for herself, who had done the work, and Makayla, who had both herself and Holly to take care of. Not to mention cutting out Jackson and Robbie. Assholes.
That thought, made her heart ache.
"Drinking to forget," She heard herself say as she approached him, taking a seat beside him, but a friendly distance, it was close enough that he could reach out and touch her, but far enough away to show she wasn't pressuring him into anything, a conversation, nor a relationship.
She noticed his meal and swallowed a sigh. Savannah wasn't a big drinker, she didn't drink when she was upset, she drank a few times, one of the times being with him, when he'd offered it too her after her nightmare, saying it would help her get to sleep, but she never drank when she was upset, that was what her writing was for.
Nick did not have such an outlet. She wouldn't bug him for it, she didn't like it, but his life was his own.
She didn't want to press him for a conversation, but she didn't want him to feel he owed her that. He didn't, He was allowed to feel whatever he wanted, even if it was for Brooklyn.
"Look, I just want you to know, there's no pressure, We never got to talk about the other night and right I don't see that happening with...everything that's happened to day." She said with a sigh. "You don't owe me anything," She told him.
"Whatever happens, you can talk to me, and I'll be objective, as always," She said, but with a heavy heart. She got the dark feel of doom looming over her when she spoke those words, and it was only because they were true. " We're still friends,Nick" She said and placed a warm hand on the one that held his beer. She smiled at him, genuinely. "No matter what, we'll always be friends."
Alex confirmed that Cara wasn't around, and Holly's presence reminded her that Makayla had to be near by. Of course. It was just her luck that the one person she liked, aside from Roman (who wasn't on her good side now anyway), was out when she needed someone to hang out with. The only positive was that Savannah didn't slow her pace going upstairs and as the door closed behind her, Brooklyn was at least reassured that she could go a few minutes without that annoying voice. "London, England. I'm from England. I'm sooo foreign and international and cool. Look at me, Nick. Did you know that I know met Queen? In fact, I fucked Prince Harry himself! Listen to my accent!" Brooklyn had known Savannah for five minutes and hated her already. It really only took one glimpse in her direction for that fate to be sealed, but when she opened her mouth a few minutes later, it only enforced how much Brooklyn disliked her. It was a good thing that Nick hadn't reemerged with Roman, because if he had, Brooklyn definitely would have snapped. In her melodramatic and petty mind, she recalled (or possibly made up) a memory of Nick stating how hot he thought girls with accents were. Typical Nick, fucking some English slut the minute I walk out the door. She didn't think her mood could get any worse.
And then Jackson showed up.
On a good day, Brooklyn could appreciate his quick wit and laughable attempts at charm. If he wasn't such a dirty, aggressive and horny little punk, she imagined that they could be friends. His shady comments, when they weren't directed towards her, were sometimes at a level she could respect. His remarks today had her at an eye-rolling level, but when his hand landed on her, any ounce of patience or positivity in her body evaporated. He was out of his mind if he thought he could lay a hand on her. Even if Nick had done something like that, especially in a room full of people, he probably would have heard it from her. Maybe she had just forgotten how obnoxious Jackson could be, but that caught her off guard and with her current mood, posted her over the edge. Brooklyn was good at keeping her composure though. She didn't knock his teeth out like she wanted to or attempt to break his wrist into a million little pieces. Before she knew it, Roman was over there, probably trying to do just that, but as quickly as the altercation had started, it ended with Jackson backing off in an expected smart ass way.
She was still trying to figure out why the hell Jackson thought he could touch her, and allowed him to walk off. The basement housed twelve people but it wasn't very large and he couldn't get very far. She had time to formulate the best response and waited until he was on his mattress to approach him. There was still a strong part of her that wanted to kick him in the face or better yet, below the belt, but as she passed by the stairs that Savannah disappeared up, she remembered she needed to save some energy. She couldn't release all of her anger onto someone as useless as Jackson when there was a bitch upstairs trying to steal Nick from her. She hated the way that thought sounded. As if she really cared that much about Nick where it would bother her that someone would steal him. She was the one who had called him every foul name in the book and left him, yet she felt like now that she was back, he had to drop everything and run back to her. Dealing with Jackson would be simpler than that.
Her first move was to kick the large beer can out of his hand before it could reach his lips again. She made sure it toppled over and that its contents spilled onto the concrete ground before smiling at him. It wasn't even as icy as her earlier one for Savannah, but the king of sarcasm would know that it was not given with warmth. "Touch me again, and I will fucking murder you, Jackson." She crouched down next to him, giving him a second to formulate a jackass response and open his mouth to say it before backhanding him across the face. It wasn't hard enough to leave him with more than a red mark and a few minutes of stinging, but she wasn't trying to injure him anyway. Jackson wasn't worth it when she had a bigger problem waiting for her upstairs. As she stood up and turned back to Roman, who she remembered was also going to be a problem, she watched Alex make an exchange with him. It was subtle and quick and Brooklyn couldn't tell what she had handed him until she stepped closer to him and saw him glance down at the handful of money. "Looks like you're treating for dinner tonight," she said, forcing a strained smirk to her face. She hated Jackson. She hated Nick. She hated Miss England. It would be burning too many bridges for her to hate Roman right now too, and his reaction to Jackson's slap had redeemed him in her eyes. She was confused about why Alexandra had given him the money, but didn't question it just yet. She needed to get out of that stuffy, humid basement before Holly could say something and piss her off even more. She tugged Roman towards the back staircase that led to the alleyway. "You must really suck at street fighting if you've resorted to becoming Alex's prostitute," she teased, once they were out of earshot of the others.
Roman could only roll his eyes, as he'd done multiple times that evening, at Jackson and his smartass mouth. All he really cared about was that he walked away, but that didn't stop Brooke from going over and putting her piece in. As he was watching her threaten Jackson, he felt a hand on his shoulder. By the time he looked over and saw it was Alex, she had slipped something into his hand and winked at him, saying something about, "Use wisely." Although he had an idea of what she slipped him, he looked in his palm and saw a few fifty dollar bills. His initial reaction would have been to deny her right then, but considering she gave him the money when he wasn't looking, he didn't have the chance. At first it was tempting. Over the general bewilderment that she just gave him free money, it was incredibly tempting. Just glancing at it, it looked to be just enough for an entry fee, which meant he could fight, and possibly get some more cash considering he was spreading pretty thin in that department. But he knew he couldn't take it. This was her money, and it would just feel even more wrong if he were to accept it considering what he assumed she did to make money. Before he could object though, Brooklyn commented, having noticed the exchange.
"Looks like you're treating for dinner tonight," she said. Roman looked at her confused, but he watched her cautiously considering these were the first words she'd said to him since getting back. From the looks of it, she was definitely not over anything. She was smirking, but there was nothing mischievous behind it, the way it usually was. It was strained and forced, misplaced on her face. As he guessed would happen, she couldn't hold out being mad at him as long as she would have liked since no one else was available. Well, she was probably still mad, but she couldn't really snub him anymore. Which, to be honest, made him want to turn her away, but he wasn't going to do that, not that he had much choice seeing as she began pulling him across the room and towards the back staircase. So she was serious about going out then, he thought to himself. He figured she was just trying to make a joke. "You must really suck at street fighting if you've resorted to becoming Alex's prostitute," she said.
"Brooklyn." Although no one could have heard, he still scorned her with his eyes. No matter how long he's known her, or will know her, the things she says will always get some type of reaction out of him. "I'll have to be someone's prostitute if you keep clearing my wallet." If the last two months were anything, they were expensive. Having visited her nearly everyday, it put a dent in his pocket. She would typically pick up the lunch tab if she could, and he would repay with dinner or something, but Brooklyn had higher standards than he did. He could get by with eating chips and drinking soda for a week if he needed to. Convincing her to come back wasn't exactly easy if they were eating outside a convenience store. And then there were taxi rides and the like. He needed something to keep him occupied when he was avoiding the basement, so he pretty much just went around the city, and as the summer got hotter, he relied on taxis more and more. Now that he was in a tight situation with Brooklyn, he found it harder to say no since he felt he owed her at least dinner, but he wasn't going to use Alex's money. "Let me see Jackson touch you again if you want to see just how good I am at fighting," he said.
Roman went over to Alex, thankful she was out of earshot for Brooke's snarky comment. He knew the two didn't exactly get along, but he could easily say that about Brooke and any other person in the basement. Alex somewhat made him uncomfortable. Like Brooke, she had a fiesty manner and a sharp wit, and she had a naturally flirty way about her. Her intimate manner was slightly off putting for someone like Killens who preferred more distant forms of communication, like what he had with Brooklyn. They teased each other and poked fun, nothing too chummy. And although Alex had a tendency to make jabs at Roman, which he was okay with, knowing it was from a good place, she was generally very seductive, and Killens didn't know how to respond to that.
"Hey," he said, holding out the money. He'd have just shoved it in her hand, but he didn't like touching people, so he was hoping she would just take it without objection. "Keep it. I don't want your money."
Alex only looked at his hand, and the expression she wore told him enough that she wasn't going to accept his gesture. She simply returned it to his hand and said, ""If you don't take this because I'm being nice, I will kick your ass." Roman could only groan internally, not sure what else to do. He shook it at her once before folding it and returning it in his pocket, deciding defeat this time because now he was uncomfortable. Considering he didn't talk to Alex that much, this was longer of a conversation than he wanted.
"You shouldn't just give your money out like candy," he said, trying hard to make his growing frustration. The entire evening was cutting his nerve, and he just wanted Alex to take the damn money.
"Looks like you're treating for dinner tonight," she said. Roman looked at her confused, but he watched her cautiously considering these were the first words she'd said to him since getting back. From the looks of it, she was definitely not over anything. She was smirking, but there was nothing mischievous behind it, the way it usually was. It was strained and forced, misplaced on her face. As he guessed would happen, she couldn't hold out being mad at him as long as she would have liked since no one else was available. Well, she was probably still mad, but she couldn't really snub him anymore. Which, to be honest, made him want to turn her away, but he wasn't going to do that, not that he had much choice seeing as she began pulling him across the room and towards the back staircase. So she was serious about going out then, he thought to himself. He figured she was just trying to make a joke. "You must really suck at street fighting if you've resorted to becoming Alex's prostitute," she said.
"Brooklyn." Although no one could have heard, he still scorned her with his eyes. No matter how long he's known her, or will know her, the things she says will always get some type of reaction out of him. "I'll have to be someone's prostitute if you keep clearing my wallet." If the last two months were anything, they were expensive. Having visited her nearly everyday, it put a dent in his pocket. She would typically pick up the lunch tab if she could, and he would repay with dinner or something, but Brooklyn had higher standards than he did. He could get by with eating chips and drinking soda for a week if he needed to. Convincing her to come back wasn't exactly easy if they were eating outside a convenience store. And then there were taxi rides and the like. He needed something to keep him occupied when he was avoiding the basement, so he pretty much just went around the city, and as the summer got hotter, he relied on taxis more and more. Now that he was in a tight situation with Brooklyn, he found it harder to say no since he felt he owed her at least dinner, but he wasn't going to use Alex's money. "Let me see Jackson touch you again if you want to see just how good I am at fighting," he said.
Roman went over to Alex, thankful she was out of earshot for Brooke's snarky comment. He knew the two didn't exactly get along, but he could easily say that about Brooke and any other person in the basement. Alex somewhat made him uncomfortable. Like Brooke, she had a fiesty manner and a sharp wit, and she had a naturally flirty way about her. Her intimate manner was slightly off putting for someone like Killens who preferred more distant forms of communication, like what he had with Brooklyn. They teased each other and poked fun, nothing too chummy. And although Alex had a tendency to make jabs at Roman, which he was okay with, knowing it was from a good place, she was generally very seductive, and Killens didn't know how to respond to that.
"Hey," he said, holding out the money. He'd have just shoved it in her hand, but he didn't like touching people, so he was hoping she would just take it without objection. "Keep it. I don't want your money."
Alex only looked at his hand, and the expression she wore told him enough that she wasn't going to accept his gesture. She simply returned it to his hand and said, ""If you don't take this because I'm being nice, I will kick your ass." Roman could only groan internally, not sure what else to do. He shook it at her once before folding it and returning it in his pocket, deciding defeat this time because now he was uncomfortable. Considering he didn't talk to Alex that much, this was longer of a conversation than he wanted.
"You shouldn't just give your money out like candy," he said, trying hard to make his growing frustration. The entire evening was cutting his nerve, and he just wanted Alex to take the damn money.
Alex's Dialogue
"You shouldn't just give your money out like candy."
Alex rolled her eyes at Roman. She shooed his hand away with her own, standing from where she was on her mattress to better look Roman in the eye. She pressed the bills into his palm and closed his fingers around them, holding his gaze the entire time.
"If I were giving it out like candy, I would have none left. This is a gift from me, to you. I know it's enough for you to make some money out of what you put this into, so here's a deal. I'll let you maybe, maybe, pay me back in the future. Probably not. Deal?" Alex tilted her head slightly, putting on a bright smile and generally making herself look as innocent as possible.
When the frustrated and anxious look in Roman's eyes continued, she put on her best puppy dog face. "Take it? For me? It's a present."
The most interesting part of the fortune cookies were always the cookie itself, but since it took half a second for Holly to consume it, she usually had time to focus on the fortune inside too. When she was with Makayla, she could normally toss the small paper to her and have her read the fortune too her. Makayla wasn't here though, which briefly reminded her of the bar and the tattooed woman she wanted to talk to, before her attention again fell upon the fortune in her hands. Holly could read. Her dyslexia made it difficult and tiring, and her ADHD left her with very little focus or motivation to try and improve it. That, combined with other learning disabilities had put her significantly behind the accepted level of reading comprehension for a person of her age. The fortune was only one sentence but after about ten seconds of trying to decipher it, Holly gave up and crumbled it into a ball. She peered into the bag that Alex had pulled the first cookie out of and without asking for permission, took a second one out from inside. She had just popped the cookie into her mouth when Jackson appeared, and the scene that quickly unfolded left her frowning. She had busied herself with a third cookie so she only watched as Jackson hit Brooklyn, Roman shoved Jackson, and a few minutes later, Brooklyn slapped Jackson.
Holly didn't like fighting, especially physically. Every house she had grown up in had left her with some sort of abusive memories. The earlier memories mostly involved men beating her mother up, but by age five, she was the victim of physical abuse too. Most of those memories were kept hidden away in the back of her mind. She would never speak of them, not even to Makayla, but watching other people fight reminded her of them. It wasn't too dramatic. She didn't suffer from flashbacks or worry that Roman or Brooklyn were suddenly going to turn her anger on her, but she still wasn't comfortable with people she loved hurting other people she loved. Luckily, Jackson was one of the few people she didn't like, and since he was the victim of most of the violence, she settled with frowning and not trying to intervene. Besides, there was one last fortune cookie in the bag and Makayla wasn't there to stop her from helping herself to it. Knowing that there were no cookies left in the bag, she decided that this must be her lucky fortune and with the small paper in hand, got up and headed towards Roman and Alex. "Does one of you know how to read in American?" she asked, realizing that both Roman and Alex had accents. "Because this is definitely my lucky fortune and I need you to tell me what it says because it's too small for me to read." The least embarrassing way for her to say that it would take her thirty minutes to spell out each word herself and then string them together to possibly understand whatever the fortune read. As she thrust out her hand with the paper, she noticed how Alexandra seemed to be handing money to Roman. "I want money too."
Before he had the chance to pull away, Alex had taken his hand and wrapped his fingers around the cash. The act took him off guard and he visibly stiffened and watched her hand as she spoke. When he finally looked at her, albeit hesitantly, she was flashing him a big smile.
"Take it? For me?" she said. "It's a present."
Roman no longer cared to debate with her. He jerked his hand away from her and grumbled, "Fine. Whatever," before he quickened to put space between him and Alex. This was why he didn't talk to her, or anyone. He didn't like being surprised with money, or people holding his hand. With Nick and Brooke, he knew what to expect. Well, at least most of the time anyway. Alex probably thought he was too prideful to accept the cash, which wasn't really the case. Before he got into fighting, he tried different ways of making revenue, and one way was having sex for money. It didn't really work out, and it was a pretty traumatizing experience for him. Taking the money, in his eyes, only seemed to affirm that he was okay with that. And maybe Alex was fine with it, but he didn't want anything to do with it. It felt wrong for more reason than one, and he planned on returning it when she wasn't looking. And if she continued to object, he would just have Brooke bite her or something.
Before he could turn away though, Holly had appeared, much to his dismay. He didn't necessarily dislike Holly. She was really nice, almost unbearably nice, and it was funny how interested she was in his tattoos, but her timing was almost always terrible, like now. He didn't have it in him to entertain her, but no matter what kind of mood he was in, he knew enough that he couldn't just be mean to her. He took another moment to decipher her strange question about reading "in American." Considering neither him nor Alex were American, he was even more confusing. He looked at the small slip of paper in her hand, realizing it to be a fortune out of a fortune cookie. Before he could so much as answer her, though, Holly said she wanted money too, apparently seeing Alex giving Roman the cash. Before she could further that conversation, Killens turned Holly away and took the paper from her.
"Fortunes are worth a lot more than money. Let me see." Roman unraveled the tiny slip and read it aloud. "Love is around the corner." He blinked at the fortune in front of him. It sounded more like a horoscope than a fortune. From the look on Holly's face, he realized he probably should have made up a fortune, a boring one, that wouldn't leave her asking a million questions, but it was too late. And sure enough:
"What's that mean?"
"Uh," Killens said slowly, trying to figure out how else to explain something so simple. "It means someone that you love is close by." He glanced about the room as if it could offer him some type of answer. "Isn't Makayla upstairs?" he said. "You love her, so you should go upstairs and show her this so you can have good fortune," he said, handing it back to her. To his relief, she snatched the paper out of his hand, exclaiming excitedly, "Oooooh! I like that! Okay, I'll go show her!" And before he could respond, she ran off. Killens turned around to see her go up the stairs, but she was already halfway up by the time he did so. Now was definitely time to leave the basement. He had had enough conversations to last him a few days. Killens grabbed his jacket beside his mattress and made his way over to Brooke, not allowing her the chance to make a smart remark, which he knew she would.
"Save it," he said. "Let's just get out of here." With that, they left, entering the mugginess of the city, the sun casting orange over the skyscrapers' shadows, and the sound of angry horns greeting them into the thick, humid evening.
"Take it? For me?" she said. "It's a present."
Roman no longer cared to debate with her. He jerked his hand away from her and grumbled, "Fine. Whatever," before he quickened to put space between him and Alex. This was why he didn't talk to her, or anyone. He didn't like being surprised with money, or people holding his hand. With Nick and Brooke, he knew what to expect. Well, at least most of the time anyway. Alex probably thought he was too prideful to accept the cash, which wasn't really the case. Before he got into fighting, he tried different ways of making revenue, and one way was having sex for money. It didn't really work out, and it was a pretty traumatizing experience for him. Taking the money, in his eyes, only seemed to affirm that he was okay with that. And maybe Alex was fine with it, but he didn't want anything to do with it. It felt wrong for more reason than one, and he planned on returning it when she wasn't looking. And if she continued to object, he would just have Brooke bite her or something.
Before he could turn away though, Holly had appeared, much to his dismay. He didn't necessarily dislike Holly. She was really nice, almost unbearably nice, and it was funny how interested she was in his tattoos, but her timing was almost always terrible, like now. He didn't have it in him to entertain her, but no matter what kind of mood he was in, he knew enough that he couldn't just be mean to her. He took another moment to decipher her strange question about reading "in American." Considering neither him nor Alex were American, he was even more confusing. He looked at the small slip of paper in her hand, realizing it to be a fortune out of a fortune cookie. Before he could so much as answer her, though, Holly said she wanted money too, apparently seeing Alex giving Roman the cash. Before she could further that conversation, Killens turned Holly away and took the paper from her.
"Fortunes are worth a lot more than money. Let me see." Roman unraveled the tiny slip and read it aloud. "Love is around the corner." He blinked at the fortune in front of him. It sounded more like a horoscope than a fortune. From the look on Holly's face, he realized he probably should have made up a fortune, a boring one, that wouldn't leave her asking a million questions, but it was too late. And sure enough:
"What's that mean?"
"Uh," Killens said slowly, trying to figure out how else to explain something so simple. "It means someone that you love is close by." He glanced about the room as if it could offer him some type of answer. "Isn't Makayla upstairs?" he said. "You love her, so you should go upstairs and show her this so you can have good fortune," he said, handing it back to her. To his relief, she snatched the paper out of his hand, exclaiming excitedly, "Oooooh! I like that! Okay, I'll go show her!" And before he could respond, she ran off. Killens turned around to see her go up the stairs, but she was already halfway up by the time he did so. Now was definitely time to leave the basement. He had had enough conversations to last him a few days. Killens grabbed his jacket beside his mattress and made his way over to Brooke, not allowing her the chance to make a smart remark, which he knew she would.
"Save it," he said. "Let's just get out of here." With that, they left, entering the mugginess of the city, the sun casting orange over the skyscrapers' shadows, and the sound of angry horns greeting them into the thick, humid evening.
Cara wasn't oblivious to how quickly Makayla was consuming her drink, but she didn't comment on it. The least that the girl deserved was a drink and Cara would have been more than happy to buy her a second one had she made it clear many times before that she didn't like her buying things for her. That's why it didn't surprise her when Kay politely denied her offer for the hotel stay. The reason made sense. Of course Holly wouldn't understand that Makayla couldn't afford to keep them in a hotel and spending one night in what would probably seem like heaven to her would be hard to recover from. It made Cara feel horrible, really. Not only did she have the power to take herself off the streets at a moment's notice, but really, she could do the same for Makayla and Holly too. Her penthouse had ten bedrooms, far more than her father, his wife and she needed. Not only that, but it would just take a short conversation with her father to secure Makayla a job as someone's secretary or assistant. She wouldn't be making millions, but Cara knew what a difference a $10 an hour, safe and respectable job could do for Makayla. She could get Holly back into school, save up for her own apartment, go to a community college and get a degree, and get a job that she would love. It was that easy. The only thing standing in the way of it all was that Cara wasn't ready to go crawling back to her dad. It was immensely selfish and sickening, but that was how much her pride was costing her now.
The thoughts had her chewing on her lip as she instantly responded to Makayla's question. "Of course she can hang out with me! Is she down--" Cara stopped mid-sentence as Makayla's attention was diverted to Savannah who passed by their table. The curly-haired girl must not have heard Makayla's inquiry in the loud room, for she proceeded past without even a glance in their direction. It had answered Cara's next question though, on where Holly had disappeared to. With one look towards Kay's empty glass, Cara pushed hers towards her. "You finish this for me and I'll go check on Holly," she insisted, hoping her attempt at being stern would stop Makayla from trying to object. She headed into the back room of the pub and just as she was about to open the door to the basement, it swung open and Holly appeared. "There you are! I was just coming to find you," she smiled. "I have to show Makayla my fortune so I can get good luck! Roman said so!" Holly exclaimed in her normally excited tone. The smaller girl grabbed her hand before Cara could examine the tiny piece of paper Holly was waving, and pulled her back into the bar. Only a minute had passed since she left, so she found Makayla where she had left her and smiled apologetically as the bouncing redhead interrupted the lone minute of solitude that Makayla would probably have all day.
When her help was turned down Lenny just shrugged and continued up the steps. Needing a drink she walked into the bar and headed straight for one of the chairs. With a smile on her face she greeted Finn and they began a conversation about what was going on down in the basement and about working the bar today. Lenny told him about how Brooke was back even though he probably knew all that but that's all. She really didn't have anything to say on the matter other than her joke about how Finn might be short a runaway soon with Brooke being back and the whole situation with Nick and Savannah.
Wine was a very unusual thing people ordered at bars but Lenny didn't think so. Finn had half a bottle of an old grape wine just for her and he filled up a fancy looking glass for her halfway. She'd promised him that she would get dressed to work the bar after this one glass but when she scouted the crowd for a girl to chat up her eyes landed on a familiar redhead. Jumping off the chair she headed towards the table where Makayla, Cara and Holly sat. Lenny pulled up a chair and sat in it in a reversed manner so the back of the chair and her were facing towards the girls.
"Hey there all my beautiful girls, " she greeted with a bright smile before reaching over and patting Holly on the head. "Been downstairs yeah? Did you eat the fortune cookies I left you?" Lenny asked before turning her attention to the other two.
"Brooke is back and tension is building up down there like crazy but hey on the bright side I get to dress up fancy tonight!" she said while taking a sip of her wine. In reality Lennie didn't really own any fancy clothes but she did own a buttoned down white shirt and some fancy looking black shoes even though they costed only 25 bucks and they wern't really fancy anyway. Add in her nicest looking black jeans and her old black bow-tie and she looked as fancy as she could get for a runaway that is. "So tell me what have my girls been up too today?" Lenny questioned setting down her drink. Right now Len was happy to be out of that basement and seeing Makayla and Holly, two of her favorite people on earth and of course Cara too but the two sisters just a tad bit more.
Nick was in the middle of the eating when he sensed someone sitting down next to him. He didn't look up, thinking that it was just another patron, until he heard Savannah's voice. Any time other than right now, he would have been happy to see her. Right now, not even the girl he had used as a shoulder to lean on and an ear to talk off could make him smile, though. In fact, along with Brooklyn, she was one of the last people he felt like he could talk to right now. But when she spoke, he was hit with guilt. He did owe her something. He owed her an explanation and an apology at the very least. She was right that now probably wasn't the best time to discuss their night and whatever they were, but after the weeks of listening to him go on and on about how bad Brooklyn was, he owed her some thoughts on why he couldn't just let her go now. "No, I do owe you an explanation but... I just don't have one right now, Savannah. I'm sorry." His tone was defeated and he couldn't even bring himself to meet her gaze, but he just really wasn't in the mood to snap.
10:00 PM
"Dude, why don't you stay and chill? My parents are gone for the weekend and Craig's on his way with some more beer."
"Yeah, come on, man! You just bring the bud and bail like that?"
Nick was in what was definitely the nicest apartment he had ever been in. It was the penthouse suite of one of the nicer hotels in the Upper East Side, and like many hotels in the area, it had been transformed into an apartment for people who had far too much money to blow. It was pathetic, but he could admit that he was completely jealous of the eleventh-grade kid whose parents owned the place. That's why he didn't mind wasting an hour of his night at the party filled with other bratty high school kids that he was throwing. After drinking a couple of their beers and smoking one of the joints he had sold them, he was ready to leave, though. "Sorry guys. Got a few more stops to make tonight." There were a few more attempts at getting him to stay, but by the time Nick had gotten to the door, a swarm of prim looking girls filed in and the teen boys had appropriately turned their attention to him.
In reality, Nick didn't have any more stops to make. He had left Finn's bar as soon as he finished his burger to escape the uncomfortable tension he had brought on with Savannah and Brooklyn, and made all of his deliveries early. By ten-thirty, he was back at Finn's with four-hundred dollars in his pocket. It was a great day sales-wise, but Friday and Saturday usually were. He didn't expect that much on a normal day and used his weekend sales to keep him moving through the slow week.
By the time he had managed to straighten everything up, most everybody had already either left, or gone off to their usual business. After everything that just went down, he had a major headache and just wanted to lie down.
His area wasn't at all special. There was an old, white mattress covered with a bed sheet he had found (read: stolen) at a local hotel, and beside it, half a trash bag full of clothes. Inside his mattress he hid all the money he had pickpocketed from the tourist. He was good at that, as it was how he had survived in the time before he met Nick and the others. Before that, he would usually just travel around, stealing money from anybody who had a wallet. His home before the basement varied, and would always change before the end of a month. In fact, in his five years of being alone, The basement had been his longest home.
He lay on his stomach on the mattress, just staring at the wall until be finally managed to turn his head. Then his eyes landed on thing that stood out from the other's. A piece of paper he always kept under his pillow which must have gotten pushed out without his knowledge. Zero picked it up.
It was a picture of two crudely drawn stick figures holding hands. One was shorter than the other with scribbled on blond hair and a triangle body that was supposed to be a blue dress. He other was taller with half the head shaded black. Below the picture, in messy handwriting written in crayon, were the words:"Me and my big brother. His name is Trevor, but everyone calls him Zero."
Zero's fist tightened around the edges of the paper, and he crumbled him back up and placed it under his pillow where it belonged. Now that the hope of sleep was out of the question, he could probably use a drink from the bar upstairs.
At ten O' clock at night, it wasn't to heavily crowded, as everyone was headed to some popular night club at the heart of the city. He nodded to Finn as he sat down, and order his usual drink, Whiskey. He didn't plan on drinking much, as he didn't want to be fighting a hangover the next morning. Though things had calmed down, it was only a calm in the storm.
Thirty minutes passed as he drank his drink, and chatted with Finn a bit (well, Finn mostly chatted. Zero only offered the occasional reply and nod.) At first he didn't notice Nick walking in until he felt the presents of someone else in the room. The man looked as if he'd been though the ringer. And Zero though all the drama gave him a headache.
Either way, he still nodded politely to him, and offered the casual "Hey."
After spending a few minutes with Lennie, Holly and Makayla at the bar, Cara took Holly out. It took a lot of insistence on her part since Makayla claimed that she wasn't leaving to work for a few hours and didn't need her to take Holly yet, and then a lot of resistance when Makayla tried to offer her five dollars to cover Holly's dinner. Cara, of course, refused the money. Not only did she not need it, but though she'd never say it, five dollars wasn't going to cover Holly's dinner. She didn't ever go anywhere fancy with the teenager, but she also wasn't a big fast food eater and generally ended up at a diner or a casual restaurant like TGI Friday's or Applebee's. They were places that she rarely frequented a few years back but seemed like a luxury compared to the food that her new peers dined on, and on the plus side, they served alcohol. Tonight, upon Holly's insistence when they walked past it, they chose The Hard Rock Cafe. It took thirty minutes for just the two of them to be seated, but it was easy to keep Holly occupied with exploring the restaurant since it was her first time there, and well, it was Holly. It didn't take much to excite her. Cara ordered a grilled chicken arugula salad and in a similar fashion to Makayla, ended up picking at the nearly full plate of macaroni and cheese that Holly still had when she insisted she was full. (Un)surprisingly, Holly suddenly became hungry again when the waiter offered them a dessert menu and they ended their meal with a Hot Fudge Brownie, and on Cara's end, a second Mai Tai.
It was nearing eight o'clock when they left the restaurant with no real destination in mind. Holly suggested that they see a movie and with no desire to return to the basement just yet, Cara agreed. She was well aware of how much Holly loved the movie theater. She asked to go on a daily basis and it was really the only thing that Cara knew of that could keep the girl's mouth closed for two hours straight. Cara was usually hesitant to take her since Makayla always tried to pay her back for Holly's ticket, but the outdoor summer movies usually held in the public parks were cancelled tonight due to the rain. There were countless indoor things to do in New York City on any given day of the week, but not so many with a hyperactive child who lost interest in things after only a few minutes. Cara wasn't slightly interested in the cartoon movie Holly decided they would see, so she ended up dozing off for most of it. It was only when the lights came on and she heard Holly's voice that she was pulled out of her half-asleep, half-awake state. "That was the funniest movie ever, right Cara?!" Holly was clearly too caught up to even notice how startled that Cara was that the movie was over and that she had managed to sleep through it all. "It was," she agreed thoughtlessly as she hurried to collect herself.
It was ten o'clock by now, and probably late enough to go back to the basement. The others seemed to be night owls, but probably because their jobs depended on the darkness. Brooklyn worked at a strip club, most of the other girls as prostitutes, and many of the boys as thieves or dealers. There was a good chance that the basement would be empty and that she could get Holly to fall asleep before anyone's presence riled her up any further. But Cara didn't want to go back to the basement. It was a disgusting place to live on a normal day, and with the rain that had fallen over the past few hours, it's normal scent of smoke, drugs and alcohol would be tainted with one similar of wet dog too. Makayla had shot down the idea of taking Holly to a hotel quickly, but Cara was being selfish and she didn't want to sleep in that basement tonight. She had spent a year down there with only two nights at a hotel over that period of time and dammit, she deserved one night in a real bed! So did Holly and Cara would make a point of explaining to Holly that this was just an adventure for one night. Makayla would get over it when she realized that Holly understood that.
"Holly, what do you say we go on an adventure tonight? She that hotel over there?" Cara pointed at a tall building across the street: The W New York. It was nothing special in Cara's spoiled eyes, but it was a pretty nice hotel. "We're going to have a sleepover there. Just tonight though, okay?" The rooms probably ran around $300 a night and while the price wasn't the problem, she just hoped her father mistook it for a charge he made when he skimmed through his credit card bills. She hated the idea of him knowing that she wasn't as independent as she wanted him to believe. That she was relying on him and his money just to have a roof over her head. Even if it was just one night, it bothered her. It didn't make much sense since she swiped that same card tens of times a day on food and clothing purchases, but this seemed different. As the rain pelted down on her and Holly as they hurried across the street, she couldn't find it in her to care very much though.
The Old Mill Tavern was a seedy, old bar set in one of the shadier downtown areas of New York. Its crowd reflected that. To put it bluntly, it was a watering hole for criminals. It was typical to find people doing lines of cocaine in the bathroom, the billiards area always reeked of marijuana and cigarette smoke, and it wasn't hard to spot at least a couple ladies working the bar area on any given night. Makayla was one of them. She got lucky tonight with some of the more territorial girls who normally worked the establishment being absent. That meant that she didn't have to resort to loitering outside of the place and track down a potential client herself. Spending a night in the bar wasn't ideal but it sure beat wandering the dark streets on her own. If her job wasn't already dangerous enough, literally working the streets would definitely land her a trip to the morgue.
"You aren't no undercover cop or something, right?" Eddie Velasquez was a fifty-five year old cab driver who seemed to spend every minute outside of his cab at The Old Mill. There was a Hispanic prostitute that always gravitated towards him but she wasn't in sight and Makayla was desperate. She didn't want to wait around and see if someone younger or kinder looking showed up, because really, that wasn't going to happen. This was the real world, not some movie where an attractive man with the body of a god and a wallet as thick as the Bible would take her home with him.
Makayla had sat down on the bar stool next to him, swiveling around so she was facing him directly. "Not unless you want me to be," she purred, not even flinching as he exhaled a cloud of thick cigar smoke in her face. His eyes scanned over her form as if he were undressing her in his mind and trying to decide whether she was going to be worth the money or not. When his hand started to ride up her thigh, she knew she was in the clear, but it wasn't something to celebrate. She was too used to interactions like this to pull away or swat at the large, callous hand that had now disappeared under the hem of her tight dress. It was degrading and demoralizing, but the thought of only have five dollars to her name kept her from getting sick when she felt him tugging at the waistband of her thong.
"I've only got forty bucks." He shifted as he pressed his cigar to his lips again, pulling his other hand out from her dress but only to squeeze her thigh. Was it supposed to be flirtatious? Threatening? Territorial? Makayla didn't know and really, not one answer sounded better than another so she wasn't sure that she wanted to know. "Forty? You know I can't help you out for that," she objected, though her tone was still sultry. She forced herself to sit on the edge of her barstool now and pressed her lips to his ear. "I'll make an exception for you and do it for fifty tonight. Only because I really want you." She was lucky that her random bouts of nausea weren't present now, because between his potent stench of body odor and smoke and the words she were saying, she definitely would have puked.
Unsurprisingly, he suddenly became ten dollars richer because after a final puff of his cigar, he stood up and headed towards the door, only giving her a bare nod to tell her to follow. His cab was parked on an eerily empty street a few blocks behind the bar. Even being used to it, the thought of how vulnerable she was right now sent shivers down her spine. It would have been so easy for this guy to beat her up, to rape her, to kill her... no one would know. That was the reality of her job and it was in the moments leading up to the deed, like right now, that scared her the most. It was probably even worse than the next fifteen minutes when she was actually making her money. That was humiliating and disgusting, but Makayla was good at shutting her eyes and just... working. She constantly reminded herself of the payout she was getting, and luckily did get tonight, and what felt like an eternity later, it was over. He had reluctantly tossed fifty dollars her way, zipped up his pants and told her to get out because he had to work. She was more than happy to oblige.
The rain had subsided when they were in the bar but had picked up again by the time they were finished. She welcomed the water, though. It made her feel like she was washing away the sweat sticking to her skin, most of it from him but some of it her own. The skin on her neck and chest felt sore. She wasn't sure if they would end up being bite marks or hickeys, but she again, didn't want to know for now. Either way, she was going to be disgusted with herself when she studied the marks in the mirror. The two twenties and the ten dollar bill in her pocket kept her from breaking down as she walked thirty minutes in the pouring rain back to Finn's.
Judging from the crowd in Finn's bar, it was probably ten-thirty when she got back. Having no phone or watch left the exact time in question, and she passed the bar's entrance and opted to get to the basement through the side stairs, so she couldn't confirm it on his clock. She was sopping wet, emotionally shaken from the night, despite it being something she did at least two or three times a week, and utterly exhausted. However, as soon as she had left Eddie's cab, her mind was set on one thing. She needed to smoke. It was a stupid move financially, but smoking kept her sane and she didn't even hesitate as she tossed the ten dollar bill onto Nick's pillow. He had given her a dime bag that evening after she insisted she would pay him back for it when she had the money, and now that her debt was resolved, she didn't feel bad pulling out her lighter and cheap bowl and lighting up. It was obvious that Holly and Cara were still out, and her sister's presence, or lack thereof, was the only one that Kay cared about right now. If anyone else was downstairs, her emotional state had left her too busy to notice, and she only hoped they wouldn't mind her smoking down there enough to bother her.
"I just don't get it, Roman. I mean, is she pretty? In the right lightning, probably, but what in the world could Nick see in a girl like her? I don't even know the bitch and I already know that she's so plain Jane. If Nick really wanted to fuck around like that, he should have at least went for a girl like Alex... one that would be an obvious rebound. But that girl? Miss London, England? What am I missing? Cut the bullshit about not knowing anything about her, Killens. Who is this bitch?"
Brooklyn had kept her mouth shut about Savannah for most of the evening. She and Roman enjoyed a casual dinner at an Italian place a few blocks away. He treated, just as she had suggested he do, but Brooklyn resisted the urge to follow up on the Alexandra/Roman incident she had witnessed as they were leaving. The prostitute comment seemed humorous to her but she didn't really care what was going on between the two of them. As selfish as it was, she was too focused on her own problems and a different girl. She forced herself to keep the English girl's name out of her mouth throughout the course of their dinner, and even through the time they spent at her friend's apartment as they gathered the last of her things. There were two large plastic storage containers left, mostly containing clothes, and in a similar fashion to the day's earlier events, Roman helped her haul them back to Finn's. This time, however, Brooklyn covered the cab fare. It was her stuff that they were hauling and while she liked to impose on Roman and guilt him into paying for many of their outings, it was usually in a playful manner. She didn't actually expect him to finance her life and with a pride as big as her's, she did like to make a point of being able to pay for things every now and then too.
Feeling a lot less defensive with just her and Roman in the basement, Brooklyn compromised and tried not to take up that much of Holly and Makayla's space. Okay, maybe it was more accurate to say that she took the liberty of relocating Cara's thing into the vacant spot next to Zero... but either way, her space was set up and she didn't ruin the area that Zero had fixed for Makayla and Holly. She didn't see Nick or Savannah all night and instantly assumed that they were together. It made the normally independent Brooklyn request that Roman come up to Finn's apartment with her to help her get ready. Really, she just couldn't keep her emotions to herself anymore and the mix of curiosity, anger and betrayal had her ready to vent.
After a long, hot shower, she unlocked the bathroom door and forced Roman to hang out with her while she did her hair and makeup. She started with grilling him for not telling Nick that she was coming back, since he had made it seem like it was Nick who was begging for her return a few days ago. When she set her hair dryer down and could actually speak without screaming, she turned to him with the questions regarding Savannah's identity. Aside from the expletives thrown in here and there, she didn't think she was saying anything too mean. She wanted to act like she didn't care and that she could give Savannah the benefit of the doubt in all of this... but it was a hard facade to pull off in front of Roman, who knew her well. She was too busy applying lip stick to focus her eyes on anything other than her reflection in the mirror, but if she hadn't been, she would have been glaring at him. If he even tried to continue the charade of knowing nothing about who Savannah was, he would be getting the same treatment as Jackson had earned earlier.
Customers came and went. Some stayed far to long making pointless conversation with the person beside them or just drinking shot after shot of whatever they were having. Lenny was drying off one of the glasses with a soft white cloth that was made just for that, drying off stuff. The night was busy, Mister Finn had to do some things so Len was left in charge of the bar tonight until he got back. She didn't mind it though, hearing the gossip and failed attempts of people trying to get laid amused her lots, maybe a bit too much. She had a couple of swings during her shift in order to put up with the more rude or annoying customers and she wasn't feeling it as much as she wanted too.
Right then a group of young men busted through the bar doors. They looked nowhere older than 23 and Lenny automatically noticed how hyped they were. A sighed escaped her lips as she set the now dried and shiny glass back in it's place. ' I bet one of them just turned twenty one.' she thought right before one of the boys, the shortest one of group slammed his ID on the counter and ordered a round of fireballs for his friends. Lenny rolled her eyes when she turned around to grab 5 shot glasses. Typical college boys, they'll probably get drunk tonight, miss some big test they have tomorrow then get wasted all over again. Lenny grabbed her three ingredients, Cinnamon Schnapps , Bacardi and Tabasco. She then mixed them all together and filled all 5 shot glasses before sliding them down to the guys.
A couple of hours later and the guys were still there but Lenny was now serving about 15 people at once. Her hands were filled and the drunken guys were starting to work on her last nerve. The birthday boy was so drunk that he began trying to sweet talk Lenny which only made her want to gag not because he was a guy but because his pick up lines were so lame, gross and stupid. ' Be nice, serve with a smile.' she was going to snap if she had to hear one more of his stupid pick up lines or jokes. 'Be calm, don't punch him in the fac-' just then there was a crash and when she looked up a fight had broken out between one of the college boys and another customer. "For fucks sake!" Len exclaimed before hoping over the bar swiftly and running over to the two. She tried pulling the big guy off the college boy but he was too strong for her.
Lenny ended up getting elbowed in the face which caused her nose to bleed. The blonde was mad now but right when she was about to get up Finn ran up to the guys with one of his friends and sent them both out along with the boys other college friends. "He gotcha good huh?" Finn questioned while helping Lenny off her ass and checking out her bloody nose. "Nope he missed me completely." she answer a bit annoyed and with a sarcastic tone to her voice. Finn told her to lean her head forward while pinching her nose and that's exactly what she did until he came back with tissues. " It ain't broken, just bruised a bit. Go get cleaned up, you worked hard enough for tonight."
With that Lenny made her way to the women's restroom and cleaned splashed water on her face to get rid of the blood. She then grabbed some tissue, soaked it with water and damped it on the spots of blood that were left. In her head Lenny regretted taking the job but she needed the money so she didn't dwell on it. Once her nose was cleaned up Len exited the bathroom and was going to head down to the basement when Finn tossed her a small bag of ice for her nose and forty bucks rolled up and wrapped with a rubber band. He nodded to her as thanks and good night before going back to his duties.
Lenny wasted no time getting undressed. She literally started at the top of the steps by unbuttoning her shirt all the way and undoing her pants. She almost tripped over her pants when they started falling down but she pulled em back up before they did. Right now she did not care who or what saw her half naked, it's not like it isn't normal for her to do this anyway so she continued over to her bed. Rummaging through her back she pulled out a pair of basket ball shorts and a tank top and once she was changed into them that's when she noticed the faint smell of weed. Her eyes slowly scanned her room before spotting Makayla. Her hand dug into her bag once more pulling out a bag of chips she brought right before work and her really old scratched up, red game-boy.
She dragged her feet over to where Makayla laid and sat on the floor with her back against her friends bed. " Yo, mind if I hang with you?" she question while handing Kay the bag of chips and placing the bag of ice on her nose. The screen of Lens game-boy switched on and the pokemon title popped up. Her head was tilted back in such a way that the bag stayed on her nose without use of her hands which held her game up in the air in front of her face. "So, how was work?"
Makayla had barely been alone for two minutes when she heard the padding of footsteps coming down from the main staircase. Her eyes were closed as she mechanically lifted the joint to her lips as breathed in the drug, and the sound of someone else's presence made her barely relaxed form tighten. She pressed her eyes closed a bit more, hoping that maybe, just as she couldn't see them, she would somehow become invisible to them as well. They were too quiet to be Holly, so that was a big relief in itself. The footsteps had sounded too soft to come from one of the boys or the always-angry Brooklyn, so she assumed it was either Alex or Lennie. She got along with boys girls but even the assumption that it was one of them didn't help her relax. She didn't think she could stand anyone's company right now. It was rare for her to get a moment of relaxation. She was either running around with Holly or running after Holly, in the basement filled with the others, or out working the streets. A couple of nights a week, when she was sure that Holly was out cold for the night, she would sneak out with Jackson to have some fun, but even that wasn't always relaxing. He would often stand her up or ruin whatever good things she felt towards him with his undeniable jackass personality. She rarely ever got "me time" and the sound of a crinkling plastic bag and someone approaching her made it clear that tonight was not going to be an exception to that.
When she heard Lenny's voice, she did feel bad for dreading her company. Lenny was always very sweet to her and Holly, and it was something that Makayla certainly appreciated. She knew that Holly was hard to tolerate and when people were patient with her sister, it said a lot about their character. Still, there was a part of her that wanted to completely ignore Lenny's presence or tell her that no, she wasn't welcome to hang out with her. Makayla hated that those thoughts existed, even if it was nothing personal towards Lenny. It was impossible for her to sometimes want to get mad and upset that this was her life. That she was stuck in this dirty basement with people she didn't necessarily want to know, that she never got to have a childhood, that at twenty-one, she was raising a girl who would probably be classified as mentally disabled in some way, rather than taking courses at college or dwelling on boy or friend drama. She didn't deserve to be grabbed and kissed and shoved at just to make money to buy breakfast the next morning. Life was unfair. Her entire life was one instance of getting the short end of the stick after another and it was so fucking unfair!
Makayla felt so selfish for even having those thoughts. Holly was the sweetest person she had ever met. She was a lot to handle sometimes, but she wasn't a burden. Makayla knew that it was wrong to let herself think of her sister as such. And it wasn't anyone else's fault that her life had sucked. She could blame her father for that, but not anyone in this basement. Not Lenny, who for all Makayla knew, had lived an equally painful life and was just a lot better at accepting that life was what it was. She tried to tell herself that it was possible that for Lenny, trivial things like playing her Gameboy, were her ways of escaping. Just because Makayla and her constant smoking was more of an expected way to "escape" didn't meant that it was the only way.
With an inward sigh, Makayla forced her eyes open. She was exhausted and stressed and emotionally broken, but that wasn't Lenny's problem and she wasn't going to let it show. "Sure," she said as she exhaled a cloud of smoke. Her voice wasn't annoyed or angry or upset. If anything, it was emotionless and tired. She didn't mind coming across as tired. It had to be past ten-thirty by now. Lenny's next question was testing her non-existant patience, though. Again, she knew that Lenny meant well and that the blonde didn't deserve to be at the end of the wrath that Makayla's stress would soon unleash, but she didn't want to think about work. Makayla was well aware of Alex and Lenny being blessed with upper class clients. Alex had a body made for a swimsuit model. She was white and blonde with legs that seemed to span a mile. It was expected that men would drool over her, and that she could be picky in who she slept with. At this point, Makayla would have been happy to sleep with woman if they paid well, but Lenny was comfortable with sleeping with woman and apparently, many of them paid well too. Makayla wasn't as lucky as the two other prostitutes in the basement, though. She liked to brush it off as just one more example of how life seemed to enjoy fucking her over, but she was always "just another prostitute". She was a pretty girl and boys liked her in high school, but was she sexy enough to be paid hundreds of dollars for sex? Clearly, no. She was like the hundreds, or probably thousands, of other prostitutes in New York who slept with whoever they could get, for whatever they could get.
Makayla knew that Lenny had much nicer experiences working than she, but it definitely took a lot in her not to snap about how being fucked in the back of a cab by a stranger was just peachy. Her skin and tiny dress were still soaked from the rain, which she only remembered when she glanced over at Lennie and spotted the ice on her face. It reminded her of how cold she was, despite the basement still being hot from the day's heat. She didn't answer Lenny's inquiry right about, partly because she was still trying to be patient and understanding and thinking of a nice way to phrase her response, and partly because she was now on her knees, searching for a sweatshirt. She would change out of the dress later, when her smoke was finished and she was actually going to go to bed. For now, a sweatshirt over the wet dress would have to do. It took her a few minutes to find said sweatshirt, since she was now realizing that everything in her area seemed to be a little off. A look to her right explained that. Brooklyn's stuff. She remembered Lenny talking about Brooklyn being back earlier, and it was just one more thing that Makayla did not have the strength to deal with tonight.
As she pulled the sweatshirt out of one of the bins, she caught a glimpse of her disheveled appearance in the hand mirror she and Holly shared. Yup, they're hickeys, she groaned internally as she spotted the already-appearing dark marks on her neck. It was a sickening reminder of the shit she had to do to and it would taunt her for the next couple of days as she questioned whether her dignity was worth the fifty dollars she sold it for. "It was okay. What'd you do?" She didn't want to be short with her because she knew that her friend was only trying to be nice, but she didn't want to go off on her while trying to explain how bad her
Luckily when Brooklyn was mad, she was mad and hardly ever let the person on the receiving end get a word in until she was done. Because of that, Roman was able to avoid a few questions he wasn't sure how to answer, like if he thought Savannah was pretty. Brooklyn was only three years older than him, but she could be as reprimanding as a mother. Even when she wasn't turning her anger to him, but at him about someone else, she had a way about her that reminded him of a mother who couldn't understand the behavior of some kids. As it related to Brooke, those kids would just be equivalent to the people who annoyed her. He watched as her hair fluffed out under the blow dryer, the scent of her shampoo fanning in his direction. He was tempted to touch it, just because it looked really soft, but he knew better than to do that. He picked up one of her makeup devices, unsure of its purpose, and twirled it in his hand as she finished drilling him about his sins. He looked at her in the mirror and glared at her momentarily. Just a quick look to remind her that he knew she was being ridiculous, and that he didn't appreciate her tone, albeit being used to it.
"In the very beginning, I didn't say anything because she wasn't here, Brooke. And then when she was, I chose not to acknowledge her, just like I don't really pay attention to that other guy, whatever his name is. Zero. I was too busy trying to get your bullheaded ass back here. And even after I thought something was going on," he began before shrugging and continuing. "I don't know. I didn't want to say anything because I figured you wouldn't come back, and I wanted to trick myself into believing nothing was really going on between her and Nick. I don't like her very much, so." He shrugged again, trying to figure out the makeup tool that was in his hand. Brooklyn took it out his hand and he watched as she applied it dangerously close to her eye. Just watching her put something that close to it made him cringe, and he turned his nose up at it. "What the hell is that?"
"Mascara," she said in a way that suggested she didn't want to talk about her makeup, but other more important things.
"And I didn't tell Nick," he began, "for one because I forgot, dealing with you. And because he deserved it. I didn't like him bringing Savannah anymore than you're enjoying it now. It was like she was replacing you or something," he said, this time grumbling. Although he was quick to point out Brooke's front, like her pretending she didn't care about anything or anyone, sometimes he did the same, like now. There was a sort of mutual agreement between the two that neither of them relied on sappiness to keep their friendship afloat. To keep from lingering on what he just said, and his growing gawkiness, he switched the topic back to her. "You already know all this stuff, Brooke. You just like hearing someone say it to you."
Roman folded his arms. Most of the times, he didn't really mind entertaining Brooke. He knew she had a lot of pride and a big ego, but he also knew that other things were at play, like now. Half the time, he was sure she just trying to prove something. What, he wasn't exactly sure, but just standing with her right now, she was far less defensive compared to how she was in the basement. She'd always been like this, so maybe it was just who she was, or maybe it was from before he knew her. Regardless, she could get tiring. A person could only do so much, say so much, and as he watched the rest of the steam from the shower disappear into the air vents, he realized he couldn't really blame Nick as much as he wanted. It was only a matter of time before all the submission, the holding his tongue, or the general upkeep--emotional and monetary--that Brooklyn required would take its toll. Everything was up to Brooklyn now, she had the final say, the way she liked, but he wasn't sure why she wouldn't do anything with that power. Why she wouldn't just go back to Nick.
Sometimes Killens wasn't even sure what to do. He didn't know how many more times he could tell Brooke that Nick wanted her back, or that he wanted her back, and there were times when he didn't want to because he felt like it was just a game to her, and maybe it was. But for some reason he didn't care enough to stop, so that could have been his own problem. As a kid he was always afraid that one day he would wake up and forget everything he knew; that he'd suddenly be incapable and let everyone down. And now he was sure this had happened because nothing he was doing was competent. It made no sense that he was investing his time in mending her relationship with Nick while he could have been using that time to make sure him and Nick were on good grounds. It made no sense that he continued to tell Brooke what she already knew. It didn't make sense that he was where he was in life, given his past and his expectations. So many things stopped making sense such a long ago that he just got used to that reality. And now as he stood next to Brooke, trying to explain himself, he figured it didn't really matter what made sense anymore. It was inevitable that at the end of the day, most things wouldn't add up, opposite the way he was taught as a kid. He learned that things just added up, they just came together, and they were the way they were. And that wasn't entirely wrong, he saw now. Things didn't always add up, the way he'd learned, but things were the way they were. Although it was a "fool's shortcut," as his father called it, it was easier to accept it than to understand it, which was what he would do right now.
"I don't know if I need to learn a different language and say it for you that way, but I'll say it like I've been doing: Nick wants you back. I'm not lying when I say I don't know what's going on between them. I don't know anymore than you do except that they're a little comfy with each other. You'll be pleased to know that he doesn't tell me all of his life secrets. My opinion, if you'll have it, is that you get your head out your ass, and go to him. If you're mad, then be mad at me, I don't care. But you saw how he looked at you and fell flat on his face; it was painful for me to watch, and that's not just because I was afraid of the two of you ripping my throat out."
Killens took his weight off the doorway, feeling like a guest in Finn's apartment. Brooklyn knew Finn longer than anyone else had, so it was no surprise that she was comfortable up there, but Roman still felt slightly out of place. Just to move around a bit, he walked further into the bathroom, which was only a few steps since it was already such a small space. He looked at Brooklyn in the mirror, her appearance now different and perfected for her night job. He began smiling, already knowing he was earning his way to a slap, but he reasoned he was just out of reach for it to be worth the risk.
"And, if we're being honest, I think if you go to him like this," he began, nodding to her newly made up face and blown out hair, "he'll definitely have no trouble listening to what you have to say." It was hard to keep his composure afterwards, as he was proud of himself or his joke, but he tried to remain serious so Brooke could hear what she needed to be told. "Stop trying to prove yourself. You and I both know that if he tolerated you for this long, he probably likes you. At least a little bit. And you still like him too; your yelling at me just proved that. So just go to Nick, flip your hair over your shoulder or whatever girls do, and say you're sorry. It's that simple."
Killens paced to the other side of the bathroom again, realizing he would have to return downstairs once Brooke went off to work. His mind drifted back to his need for money, his hatred for Giovanni, and his guilt for past actions he could have avoided that might have left him with more cash. Like maybe if he skipped out on that pretzel he didn't need a few days ago, or if he didn't take the cab that other day when he could have walked if he wasn't being lazy. Unable to focus on that at the moment, or more accurately, unwilling to, he turned back to Brooke and pushed the side of her head with the tips of his fingers. It wasn't too forceful, but it had enough conviction to push her head so that if she was doing anything to her face at that time, lest her hand was very steady, she likely would have messed up. "And stop yelling at me like I'm some bitch."
"In the very beginning, I didn't say anything because she wasn't here, Brooke. And then when she was, I chose not to acknowledge her, just like I don't really pay attention to that other guy, whatever his name is. Zero. I was too busy trying to get your bullheaded ass back here. And even after I thought something was going on," he began before shrugging and continuing. "I don't know. I didn't want to say anything because I figured you wouldn't come back, and I wanted to trick myself into believing nothing was really going on between her and Nick. I don't like her very much, so." He shrugged again, trying to figure out the makeup tool that was in his hand. Brooklyn took it out his hand and he watched as she applied it dangerously close to her eye. Just watching her put something that close to it made him cringe, and he turned his nose up at it. "What the hell is that?"
"Mascara," she said in a way that suggested she didn't want to talk about her makeup, but other more important things.
"And I didn't tell Nick," he began, "for one because I forgot, dealing with you. And because he deserved it. I didn't like him bringing Savannah anymore than you're enjoying it now. It was like she was replacing you or something," he said, this time grumbling. Although he was quick to point out Brooke's front, like her pretending she didn't care about anything or anyone, sometimes he did the same, like now. There was a sort of mutual agreement between the two that neither of them relied on sappiness to keep their friendship afloat. To keep from lingering on what he just said, and his growing gawkiness, he switched the topic back to her. "You already know all this stuff, Brooke. You just like hearing someone say it to you."
Roman folded his arms. Most of the times, he didn't really mind entertaining Brooke. He knew she had a lot of pride and a big ego, but he also knew that other things were at play, like now. Half the time, he was sure she just trying to prove something. What, he wasn't exactly sure, but just standing with her right now, she was far less defensive compared to how she was in the basement. She'd always been like this, so maybe it was just who she was, or maybe it was from before he knew her. Regardless, she could get tiring. A person could only do so much, say so much, and as he watched the rest of the steam from the shower disappear into the air vents, he realized he couldn't really blame Nick as much as he wanted. It was only a matter of time before all the submission, the holding his tongue, or the general upkeep--emotional and monetary--that Brooklyn required would take its toll. Everything was up to Brooklyn now, she had the final say, the way she liked, but he wasn't sure why she wouldn't do anything with that power. Why she wouldn't just go back to Nick.
Sometimes Killens wasn't even sure what to do. He didn't know how many more times he could tell Brooke that Nick wanted her back, or that he wanted her back, and there were times when he didn't want to because he felt like it was just a game to her, and maybe it was. But for some reason he didn't care enough to stop, so that could have been his own problem. As a kid he was always afraid that one day he would wake up and forget everything he knew; that he'd suddenly be incapable and let everyone down. And now he was sure this had happened because nothing he was doing was competent. It made no sense that he was investing his time in mending her relationship with Nick while he could have been using that time to make sure him and Nick were on good grounds. It made no sense that he continued to tell Brooke what she already knew. It didn't make sense that he was where he was in life, given his past and his expectations. So many things stopped making sense such a long ago that he just got used to that reality. And now as he stood next to Brooke, trying to explain himself, he figured it didn't really matter what made sense anymore. It was inevitable that at the end of the day, most things wouldn't add up, opposite the way he was taught as a kid. He learned that things just added up, they just came together, and they were the way they were. And that wasn't entirely wrong, he saw now. Things didn't always add up, the way he'd learned, but things were the way they were. Although it was a "fool's shortcut," as his father called it, it was easier to accept it than to understand it, which was what he would do right now.
"I don't know if I need to learn a different language and say it for you that way, but I'll say it like I've been doing: Nick wants you back. I'm not lying when I say I don't know what's going on between them. I don't know anymore than you do except that they're a little comfy with each other. You'll be pleased to know that he doesn't tell me all of his life secrets. My opinion, if you'll have it, is that you get your head out your ass, and go to him. If you're mad, then be mad at me, I don't care. But you saw how he looked at you and fell flat on his face; it was painful for me to watch, and that's not just because I was afraid of the two of you ripping my throat out."
Killens took his weight off the doorway, feeling like a guest in Finn's apartment. Brooklyn knew Finn longer than anyone else had, so it was no surprise that she was comfortable up there, but Roman still felt slightly out of place. Just to move around a bit, he walked further into the bathroom, which was only a few steps since it was already such a small space. He looked at Brooklyn in the mirror, her appearance now different and perfected for her night job. He began smiling, already knowing he was earning his way to a slap, but he reasoned he was just out of reach for it to be worth the risk.
"And, if we're being honest, I think if you go to him like this," he began, nodding to her newly made up face and blown out hair, "he'll definitely have no trouble listening to what you have to say." It was hard to keep his composure afterwards, as he was proud of himself or his joke, but he tried to remain serious so Brooke could hear what she needed to be told. "Stop trying to prove yourself. You and I both know that if he tolerated you for this long, he probably likes you. At least a little bit. And you still like him too; your yelling at me just proved that. So just go to Nick, flip your hair over your shoulder or whatever girls do, and say you're sorry. It's that simple."
Killens paced to the other side of the bathroom again, realizing he would have to return downstairs once Brooke went off to work. His mind drifted back to his need for money, his hatred for Giovanni, and his guilt for past actions he could have avoided that might have left him with more cash. Like maybe if he skipped out on that pretzel he didn't need a few days ago, or if he didn't take the cab that other day when he could have walked if he wasn't being lazy. Unable to focus on that at the moment, or more accurately, unwilling to, he turned back to Brooke and pushed the side of her head with the tips of his fingers. It wasn't too forceful, but it had enough conviction to push her head so that if she was doing anything to her face at that time, lest her hand was very steady, she likely would have messed up. "And stop yelling at me like I'm some bitch."
He loved Brooklyn, and despite the horrible things he said about her, the horrible way he tried her. He still loved her.
Savannah was lost, alone, again, all because she realized, she had real true feelings for him.
"No, I do owe you an explanation but... I just don't have one right now, Savannah. I'm sorry." He'd told her, and as much as it broke her heart to hear the tone of his voice, him saying he owed her that, meant, at the very least, he cared about her feelings. Even if he couldn't find the words at the moment.
The bus rang for her stop and she got off, walking down the streets of New York. It was dangerous, she knew that, but it was alive, it was something she liked about the place. If she stayed in well lit areas, she was safe enough, and she could always find something to do.
She looked around the busy streets, watching at the world blew passed her. She felt small, but not in a bad way, this world was big, which meant, while they didn't at the time, and don't really now, feel like it, her problems were small. New York reminded her of that. That in the grand scheme of things, her relationship problems were small. That perspective made her feel oddly better and so she decided she'd wander around it bit, she wasn't ready to deal with Brooklyn and her indifference, which was putting it mildly. Here she thought, Roman was bad. Brooklyn had a reason, albeit unreasonably considering her choices, to hate her. Roman didn't like her on sight, and to this day, she didn't know why. Everyone else seemed to get along with her, She adored the Sisters,, Lennie was nice, as well as Alex and Cara, Zero was just as green as she was, but he seemed nice, Robbie, well she didn't really know what to make of Robbie, but he's never done anything to make her dislike him. Everyone else seemed perfectly fine with her presence, except Roman, and she wished she knew why, unless it had something to do with Brooklyn, they seemed close, maybe that had something to do with it, which would make it worse because it was completely and utterly unfair of him.
It was amazing that a guy like Nick could fall for someone as judgmental as Brooklyn was, Savannah had spent all of ten minutes with the girl and she rubbed her the wrong way, as Savannah wasn't a judgmental person, she liked to take things at face value, for what she saw and felt herself, but lo and behold, Brooklyn was exactly what Nick said she was.
A raging b-
Savannah was knocked on the shoulder from a passerby and after a quick murmur of an apology, and after she checked her pocket for what may have been stolen, thankfully nothing was.
Savannah abandoned her thoughts about Brooklyn and continued her night's walk.
She wondered then, as she walked, Where Nick was, how he was doing with all this, all things her aside, Nick had to be going through a wide range of emotions, he was probably juggling with feelings for her -if there were some-, his lingering feelings for Brooklyn -which was evident-, the palpable tension between the two of them, Roman's ever present look of disappointment as well as his passive aggression, all the while providing a home for the wayward and lost.
She took a deep breath, and realized she had to do something to help him, make this easier on him.
Maybe if she...stepped away, gave him space to think about all this, if she broke it off,whatever it was, then perhaps it would make things easier for him.
A lump formed in her throat, the idea of her giving up, letting Brooklyn win, brought something dark out of her then.
As gentle as she was, she was always competitive, something her parents made her become, she had to win, had to be on top, the best of the very best, she wasn't allowed to lose, and for once, she was glad for it. She wasn't going to lose, not Nick, and she'll be damned if she lost to Brooklyn.
But where to start....as a writer, she was used to playing one character against the other, how to make a villain work against the hero, she would have to make sure that Brooklyn would only show her worst side, which in Savannah's eyes, was all of her. Nick knew she had one, and frankly it wouldn't be hard, she just had to make sure that anytime Brooklyn was near Nick, Savannah would be too, and she knew that would only bring out the worst in the other girl, but that was what she wanted. Brooklyn was bad for him, Savannah knew that, she was a cancer, her mere presence infected all of them but Nick was the host, Savannah would be the doctor, she would make him see how much of a cancer Brooklyn was, simply by being herself, and she'd been the chemo, she'd fight her to the end if she had to, she would not lose.
Savannah wouldn't be fake about this, she knew better than that, she'd be no better than Brooklyn if she id it that way. Nick went to her, for an ear, and a shoulder, and she'd be that still. She told him, they were friends, and she meant it, but she didn't want to be just friends, she wanted to pace herself but she couldn't, not now that Brooklyn threatened to ruin everything, she hadn't truly known what her feelings were for Nick until now, but she knew them now, She let Lucas get away, he was gone now, she couldn't get him back, but she got a second chance with Nick, and she wasn't going to let him get away. She wouldn't make the same mistake Brooklyn had.
Like most nights with Cara, tonight was an exciting one for Holly. They went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. It was one of the more famous restaurants in the area, making it a "must see" for tourists. This meant that at six o'clock on a Friday night, even the wait for a table for two took a good thirty minutes. Not like Holly minded, though. She spent a large portion of that time dragging Cara around the restaurant admiring the music memorabilia that were displayed throughout it. It wasn't like Holly had much of an idea who Elvis or Madonna or Bruce Springsteen were, but she enjoyed the atmosphere. Any new place was a cool place, in her eyes, and since Makayla hated bringing her into Times Square where there were always hundreds of things pulling at her attention, this would probably be the first and last time that Holly would eat there. Not to mention that the final cost of the meal for just she and Cara, including her multiple drinks and Holly's dessert, was enough to finance a few days worth of meals for she and Makayla.
Their good night only got better when Cara agreed to see a movie of Holly's choice without even an ounce of resistance, like her sister would have given. While Holly enjoyed just about everything, watching movies or the television were a whole different thing for her. Growing up, she was rarely allowed to watch TV. It wasn't because her mother had her best interest in mind and didn't like the idea of her wasting her days away in front of the machine, or felt that it lacked educational value. In each of the houses Holly grew up in, there was only one television. The cable bill was rarely paid, but when it was, it was to be used to watch sporting games only. The men of the house would crowd around it to watch Sunday football or a boxing match, and if Holly dared to make a sound during those hours, she'd end up with bruises to remind her not to do it again. Still, whenever she caught a glimpse of it, she was mesmerized and when she was tossed into Makayla's care, she was allowed to watch it more frequently. They would go to the library and pick out a movie, and while Makayla worked on school assignments, she would be glued to the screen. It was, and probably still is, the only thing that could keep her captivated for hours at a time.
Holly's unusual silence throughout the movie could have left her mistaken for being dead, but as soon as the lights brightened and the screen turned dark, her energy was back. She was tired and could feel how her eyes seemed heavier than they had before the movie started, but she ignored it and turned to Cara with excitement. "That was the funniest movie ever, right Cara?!" She didn't notice how Cara scrambled to un-slump herself and adjust to the now fully-lit theater. As Cara led her out of the theater, Holly continued to recollect on the movie, perfectly content with Cara's distant nods as she spoke. "When we get back home, let's tell Makayla that she has to see it because it was so good," Holly suggested. They paused briefly at the doors leading out of the movie theater when they noticed it was raining. It was a good thing that Makayla had made her change into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt before they left because at least now, she was able to shield her head from the rain with the grey hood.
"Ooooh! I love adventures!" she responded gleefully. She gripped Cara's arm as she felt the rain lightly pad against her clothes, and nodded eagerly when Cara pointed out the hotel across the street. She wasn't sure why she was supposed to be looking at it until Cara continued and stated that they were going to spend the night there. A night in a hotel?! In Holly's sixteen years, she had never stayed in a hotel once. She had been to a seedy motel in Staten Island multiple times when her mother was delivering drugs to a man who lived in one of the rooms, but she had never slept in one. This was going to be an adventure and again, she nodded eagerly to Cara. "Makayla said that hotels cost a lot of money, though," Holly added as her pace turned into a near-jog to keep up with Cara as they crossed the street. Holly didn't notice it, but there was an aura about Cara that just made her seem like she belonged in a nice hotel like this. She felt natural walking past the doorman and leading Holly into the hotel as if she lived there, while Makayla seemed to have a heart attack if Holly even attempted to play in the spinning door of a hotel like that for even a minute. "It's okay, this one doesn't cost a lot of money," Cara insisted in a hushed tone as she scouted out the front desk and tugged Holly towards it. That bare insistence was enough to satisfy Holly's confusion.
The dark, stormy night had quickly been replaced with a bright hotel lobby. It was cool and air conditioned inside, with calm music playing in the background that seemed to tie the ambiance of the modern hotel together. Just like every other new place, there was so much for Holly to see and do that she didn't know where to begin. As Cara spoke to the woman at the desk, she kept a tight grip on one of Holly's wrists so the most she could explore now was the bowl of mints that sat on the counter. "When Makayla is done with work, she's going to come too, right?"
Nick knew that wandering back into Finn's bar might have been just as bad of an idea now as it was a few hours earlier. Located directly over the bar, it was the most convenient place for any of the others to go to get a drink and tonight, he didn't want to talk to anyone. Brooklyn, Savannah and Roman were the top three on that list, and luckily, he didn't see any of them at the bar. It wasn't too much of a surprise, though. Brooklyn worked a couple of nights a week, or at least she had before she disappeared for two months, and she was "too cool" to spend a night at Finn's bar. Like most people their age, Brooklyn was far more into drinking at some mainstream club than she was sitting in the old pub with a bunch of middle aged people. Savannah didn't drink regularly so there was no reason for her to really be in the bar unless she was hanging out with him. There was a chance that Roman was working tonight too, but even if he wasn't, Nick didn't expect him to spend his night in the bar either. Finn was a proud Irishman who always had a comment about how twisted the English were and Roman was a comment target of that hatred. After the many years they had stayed with Finn, it grew into a more relaxed relationship where the two weren't at each other's throats, but still, Nick couldn't imagine Roman using Finn's as a safe haven any time soon.
With that reassurance, he proceeded inward and took a seat at the end of the bar. Again, Finn was wrapped up in a conversation with some of the other patrons, which Nick still didn't mind. He was okay with waiting a few minutes for his drink if it meant he could finally relax. His fingers kneaded at his temples as if it would somehow push the stress right out of his mind. Obviously, it didn't work, and with a sigh that was far more audible and melodramatic sounding than he intended, he glanced to his side when he heard a voice. It was Zero. Nick hadn't even noticed the guy sitting on the stool next to him when he had walked in. Out of everyone in that basement, Zero was probably the only one that Nick could handle right now. He seemed like a pretty quiet guy but Nick appreciated that. He didn't start trouble with anyone and for the past few weeks, had proven himself to be an ideal roommate.
"Sup?" he responded, giving Zero a nod of acknowledgement. Though he wasn't against starting a conversation with him, he didn't know what to talk about, really. Savannah had been his go-to person since Zero moved in, and he honestly didn't get much of a chance to get to know the new guy. Somewhere along the line he had heard that Zero was recovering from addiction, and Nick had enough morals not to try to tempt him into getting back into the habits for his own financial gain. That, and the fact that like Nick, he also spent most of his life in Florida, was all he really knew about Zero. He figured his response was enough to signal that he was okay with talking if Zero wanted to, but that he was also more than okay with just silently drinking next to him too.
Though there were a couple of eye rolls given throughout Roman's response to her, she was generally happy with his comments. He was right. Nick did practically drool when he was talking to her. And rightfully so, Brooklyn decided. She was downgrading by being with him at all. Of course, after only being after Savannah for all of these weeks he was going to fall head over heels for her again. If she hadn't caught Nick's reaction earlier, there was no way that she would have brought Roman with her to pick up the rest of her things, because she probably wouldn't have decided to stay. Brooklyn's pride was strong enough to keep her out of the basement if she didn't really believe that Nick wanted her there, but she knew that Roman was right. Nick did want her and the look in his eyes earlier had proved that. Savannah might pose a problem since Roman claimed he too noticed that they were "comfy" together, but comfy wasn't going to replace a seven year relationship. If that girl thought she was anything more than a rebound, Brooklyn had no reservations with proving her wrong.
A small smile had crept onto her face at those thoughts, and at Roman's reassurance that Nick was still into her. It disappeared just as quickly as it had come when he made a cheeky comment about her appearance and how she should talk to Nick when she looked like this. Working at a strip club obviously meant that she had to look good. The makeup, hairdressing, and clothes (or lack thereof) all played a big role in how much money she brought home. It was also an excuse for Brooklyn to spend far too much on those items, and it wasn't atypical for her to make a couple hundred dollars a night and blow it all the next day at Sephora. If anyone tried to question her about it, she would shoot them a nasty look and give the justification that she needed expensive perfume and makeup to make more money the next night, but even she knew her spending habits were not smart. She made more money than Nick did, and maybe even more than any of the others in the basement when adding her waitress money into the equation, and yet she ended every week just as broke as the rest of them. It certainly put her in a hypocritical position when she blasted Nick for not saving up to get them off of the streets, but Brooklyn never accepted responsibility for her actions. She simply believed that it was Nick's job to keep them afloat and that if he was a good boyfriend, he wouldn't burden her with their financial problems.
"Say sorry? I thought you were on meth earlier today with your twitching hands and now I know you're high on something if you think I have anything to say sorry about, Roman." He was lucky that he had paced out of her reach, and that with another glance in the mirror, she decided her eyeliner needed to be touched up again. It left her too occupied to smack him in the head like he deserved. When he came back over and pushed her head, causing her to poke herself in the eye with the eyeliner pen, he wasn't as lucky, though. She kicked him away with the same amount of force yet playfulness that he had pushed her with. "You're lucky all I do is yell at you, bitch," she huffed as she blinked the tears out of the eye. "Almost blinded me, you dumbass." It was again said in a huff as she tried to act annoyed with him. She managed one more glance in the mirror before tossing her stray makeup items into her bag and turning to Roman. "Come down and hail a cab for me. I don't want to get wet." She was wearing sweat pants and a sweatshirt since she wouldn't dare to walk through New York in the skimpy attire she wore at the club. It wasn't like a bit of rain while hailing a cab would really ruin her look, but she wasn't going to chance it. Besides, that shove of her head had won Roman the "bitch of the year" award and hailing a cab for her was the least he could do to make up for it.